A sudden gust of cold wind caught the vampire bride off guard, sending her tumbling from the rooftop. She landed awkwardly on the ground, her skin briefly exposed to the sunlight, causing her to shriek in pain before hastily retreating into the shade of the house. As she looked up, she found herself face-to-face with Afra.
Afra canceled the Cold Wind Trail, her gaze fixed calmly on the vampire bride. The vampire bride shivered, her head bowed.
Vampire brides were somewhat similar to blood slaves, but one was a meticulously crafted masterpiece, while the other was mass-produced. Although vampire brides were closely related to vampires, they had a fatal flaw: their own bodies could not produce blood, making them highly dependent on external sources. Unlike vampires, however, vampire brides were not as susceptible to sunlight; while it burned their skin, it did not pose an immediate threat. Prolonged exposure to sunlight, however, could be fatal to both vampires and vampire brides.
More importantly, in desperate situations or when commanded by a vampire, vampire brides could activate a desperate attack ability. The cloth fragments shattered, and the vampire bride's smooth skin quickly wrinkled and turned black from the sun's scorching. She roared at Afra, her once delicate, cherry-red mouth transforming into a gaping maw, revealing two large, yellow fangs. She had become stronger, but also more hideous.
Her hands grew enormous, as solid as iron, with sharp nails capable of piercing leather armor and chainmail. Both her strength and speed had doubled, and her attack power had increased significantly. Blood erupted, and a cloud of blood mist exploded, as she inherited her master's talent ability—Blood Escape Technique. In that instant, her speed increased tenfold, allowing her to appear anywhere within a ten-yard radius in 0.1 seconds. If she could manage to appear behind Afra and extend her right claw, the destructive force of her 200-yards-per-second speed would be enough to tear Afra apart.
However, the Blood Escape Technique was interrupted. Just as the blood mist exploded, the steel-cutting sword pierced her body, pinning her to the wall before she could accelerate. Her left claw reached out, but before she could extend it, Afra had already begun to evade. A quick slide step backward, and the claw swiped in front of Afra, grasping at air.
The blade was pulled out from her body, causing a significant amount of blood to gush out. With excessive blood loss, her skin was completely burned, and her strength was nearly depleted. In desperation, the vampire bride lunged at Afra again. She was met with the rapidly enlarging blade in her pupils. With a swoosh, the sword's energy was unleashed, and the armor-piercing effect activated, easily penetrating her iron-hard palm and skull. Nailed to the wall once more, the vampire bride's raised hand fell, her exposed body emitting wisps of smoke, her limbs twitching unconsciously.
She was not yet dead; her brain was destroyed, losing the ability to think, but her heart still beat. Only when the blood dried up or the heart was completely destroyed would she truly die. But even so, it made little difference, like a person in a permanent vegetative state. The steel-cutting sword was drawn, and the corpse slid down unconsciously. The steel-cutting sword slowly absorbed energy; it would take about ten minutes for the armor-piercing effect to recharge.
Afra stepped out of Aurora's house, and outside, smoke was rising everywhere. Some tall, strange creatures were destroying everything, killing and eating people on sight. These creatures had grown black or gray hair, their cheeks elongated, and their mouths widened, making it easier for them to consume their prey. Afra frowned, realizing the gravity of the situation. These creatures were now fully qualified to be called werewolves.
Of course, werewolf was just a folk name. Officially, they were called late-stage mania patients, and the crazy old woman was classified as a mid-stage mania patient. Unlike the half-baked old woman, late-stage mania patients (werewolves) were no longer afraid of sunlight; while they disliked sunlight and preferred to avoid places with sunlight, they were not physically harmed by it. What they truly feared were flames and silver weapons, and of course, pure light power was the most effective against them. When late-stage mania patients (werewolves) transformed into werewolves, they regained their sanity and required specific times or methods to revert to their human form.
During the day, under the suppression of sunlight, the irritable temperament of werewolves became gentle and lazy, making them reluctant to move. At night, they became active, and when they encountered the moon they disliked or something that angered them, they would completely lose their sanity and transform into werewolves until they were suppressed again. Werewolves and vampires were the two dark creatures that caused the most harm to humans in the long night. They hid among people, becoming parasites of humans, and continuously absorbed human nutrients.
Why had so many late-stage mania patients suddenly appeared? Pondering this, Afra's expression darkened. According to the usual progression, it should not have happened so soon. However, there were certain methods to accelerate the process. Early-stage mania patients could still be saved, as long as they maintained a positive mood and received support from family or loved ones. There was hope for recovery. If left untreated, there was also a high possibility of remaining in the early stage of mania, characterized by a more irritable temperament than ordinary people. Some individuals might progress to the mid-stage.
The emergence of so many late-stage mania patients in a city of 30,000 people could only be attributed to one thing: someone had intentionally caused it. Creating so many late-stage mania patients was not easy, but it was not difficult either. It only required isolating an early-stage mania patient in a place without daylight, cutting him off from the world, or torturing him relentlessly. After a while, even an ordinary person would go crazy, let alone an early-stage mania patient. To create so many late-stage mania patients at once, one would need significant power.
No matter who you are, I will find you, Afra vowed silently, her eyes flickering with cold light. The method of creating late-stage mania patients had touched Afra's bottom line, reminding her of the days when she was locked in a 50-square house...
The most suspicious person had already come to Afra's mind, Gelfant. I hope it's not you, she thought. Otherwise, even if it's a green apple, I will eat it without hesitation.
A late-stage mania patient saw Afra, brandishing a kitchen knife and howling as he charged towards her. The sword light flashed, and the creature fell silent. Afra sheathed her steel-cutting sword and turned to walk towards the house. The severed arm fell to the ground, the kitchen knife clattered against the ground, and blood gushed from the throat. The head rolled, and the late-stage mania patient died on the spot.
At this time, the safest place was undoubtedly the barracks and Wind Castle. Afra decided to take the two girls to Wind Castle because it was closer and someone would take care of them. Along the way, flames cleared a path, and the late-stage mania patients dodged one after another, fearing the fire. However, the fear spell's effect was not entirely obvious, so Afra had to conserve her mana, giving those mania patients a chance to attack.